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2002 SESSION
020112612WHEREAS, William D. Hobson, a former mayor of Martinsville and the first African-American to serve on the Martinsville City Council, died on April 14, 2001; and
WHEREAS, a native of Martinsville, William Hobson graduated from Piedmont Christian Institute and attended Knoxville College in Tennessee, where he played football and majored in biology; and
WHEREAS, William Hobson returned to Martinsville in the early 1930s, then served as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II; and
WHEREAS, a successful local businessman, William Hobson first ran for city council in 1950, and by 1968, following years of diligent voter registration efforts by the Martinsville-Henry County Voters League, he finished first among five candidates for the council; and
WHEREAS, William Hobson served on the Martinsville City Council from 1968 until his retirement in 1980, including two terms as mayor of the city from 1976 until 1980; and
WHEREAS, widely known and highly respected for his fairness and consideration of opposing views, William Hobson consistently championed programs that benefited low-income families and senior citizens; and
WHEREAS, during William Hobson's tenure as mayor, Martinsville's uptown area was revitalized, a program to nearly double its water treatment capacity was initiated, and planning began on a hydro-electric project; and
WHEREAS, William Hobson was also instrumental in Martinsville's achieving the All-American City designation in 1970; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of his many years of invaluable service to the industrial, economic, and civic development of Martinsville, William Hobson was honored with the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce Humanitarian Award in May 1999; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly note with sadness the passing of an exceptional citizen of Martinsville, William D. Hobson; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of William D. Hobson as an expression of the high regard in which his memory is held by the members of the General Assembly.